The Vicis Clock
by abay
Summary: Harrys' urge to rip open the veil had plagued his dreams and thoughts for too long, and so he finally sets off on a voyage to save his godfather, but he has to put in mind that things don't always go as they're planed... Time Travel. Revised versions are
1. Runaway!

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Disclaimer: All Harry Potter series are the legal right granted to Mrs. Joanne Kathleen Rowling. I own nothing; I am simply borrowing her story and plot, twisting it into one of my own forthe entertainment of others as well as mine. No money is intended to be made out of any my fan-fic/s.

**Authors Note: **This fic is being revised, changed, spell and grammar checked, so its sequel, F.T.F will be on hold while I finish it. Sorry for the inconvenience!

On with the story!

Enjoy!

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_The Vicis Clock_

_By Abay_

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PROLOUGE

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If the muggles, whom colonized the area of Little Whinging, Surrey, would have peered out from behind their fine and exquisite curtains, they might have noticed a short, skinny boy with messy jet black hair, mount a broom with an owl on his shoulders.

"Go on Hedwig," he said to the snowy white owl as though he was speaking to a human, as though the owl could actually _comprehend _him. "Take me to the Ministry of Magic."

But the owl, Hedwig, either refused to listen or just didn't understand, because she simply stayed put on his shoulders, looking quite headstrong indeed. The boy however, Harry Potter, continued to speak to the owl nevertheless, trying to coax it into listening to him.

"Come on Hedwig! _Please_. Take me there before anyone notices anything!"

Stubbornly, Hedwig simply hooted a _'no'_ to him, and flew up to the street lamp, completely ignoring Harry's desperate pleas of help. Heaving a sigh, the boy got off his broom mumbling under his breath, and then he looked left and right scanning the area around him, as though expecting someone to jump from behind, ready to strike him.

"Listen Hedwig," he said raising his voice so she could hear him. "You don't understand. I haven't got anyone left here. I don't have parents... Dursley's hate me ...and …and Sirius...I _need_ him Hedwig, I need my godfather…" he said quietly, trailing off, and lowering his head, biting back tears, as he clutched on to his broom like his whole life depended on it.

Hedwig sensing his fears immediately flew by his side and nipped his ears in a comforting sort of way, trying to reassure him that everything was going to be alright. The boy looked up at her, his magnificent emerald eyes filled with pain and sorrow… too much pain and sorrow for a sixteen year-old, and in a low, wavering voice he said:

"I have to save him Hedwig… he can't be gone… he's _not_ gone… I have to… "

Looking into his eyes, Hedwig hooted in defeat. It ached her to see him in pain. The boy, Harry, smiled gratefully at the owl, for the first time he had smiled in weeks,mounted his polished-up broom, andpulled out a silky, velvety, silver material fromwithin hiscloak.

Harry looked left and right once again, just to make sure that no one was on his tail, and when seeing the streets quiet and deserted, he quickly draped the material over him, and in an instance, his whole body and broom vanished. Not seeming to find this startling in the slightest bit, Hedwig, though reluctantly, took off at her masters orders.

As Harry grabbed the lever of his broom, and pulled it upwards, he felt his heart was frantically beating as he flew into the night air. _He was actually doing this! He was going to save Sirius! He was going to have his Godfather back!_

How, he had no idea, but he was going try, he would do anything to have his godfather back, and as those thoughts crossed his mind, his heart started to overflow with joy and happiness, a feeling that was strange to him for too long, and the empty hole in his heart was disappearing as hopeful thoughts took its place.

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Hour after hour wisped away, cold wind slapped across his frozen face causing him to shiver from head to toe, and no matter how many times he wiped the fog away from his glasses, they somehow seemed to be getting foggier by the minute, obscuring his sight, and Hedwig was constantly altering her course. He didn't know how long he was flying but their flight was appearing to go on ceaselessly when suddenly light erupted from the horizon. The sun was rising.

At the dawn of the sun Harry started to panic. He needed to hurry up before the Order notices his disappearance, and as though Hedwig heard his very thought, she dived down and Harry descended after her, letting the ice-cold wind pierce him across the face…but he did not care…he was going to see Sirius! He was going to have his godfather back!

Now, he could see tops of buildings, street lamps, television wires, and chimneys, until he finally he reached the familiar shabby offices, and the old telephone box.

Gracefully, he touched right in front of the telephone box, and dismounted his broom rather clumsily, for it seemed that his limps were still frozen cold.

"Listen Hedwig," he said taking off the hood of his invisibility clock, so that she could see him. "I don't want you going for help. Go back to the Dursley's alright, and _stay _there."

Narrowing her grey eyes at him, she ruffled her wings, and puffed up her chest angrily, but he knew, that although Hedwig disliked his orders completely, she would follow them.

Turning to the old telephone box, he felt his heart thump wilder against his chest—_this was it, this was it! His godfather was only a few floors beneath his feet!_ Without any apprehension, Harry opened the grungy, un-kept, red door as Hedwig took off, stepped inside, and with shivering hands he grabbed the receiver, dialed the numbers six, two, four, four, two, and watched as the dial whirred smoothly into place.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business," a cool woman's voice said filling the box.

He had just opened his mouth to declare to the woman that he was Harry Potter, but held back his tongue as he realized how foolish that move would be. Although he hated being so, he knew that he was famous among witches and wizards from around the world, and surely, with no doubt, his name would attract too much unwanted attention. _And besides, _he told himself, _the order will track me easily back here if I did..._

_No, _he thought shaking his head. _He wasn't going to make it easy for anyone to know where he was._

"John... err…..ah, Skitter! Err...ah, here to...visit the... Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office!" he stuttered, remembering the first time he came here with Mr. Weasley.

"Thank you," replied the woman's brisk, business like voice. "Visitors please take the badge and attach it to the front of your robes."

A badge slipped out of the metal chute, and Harry picked it up reading: _John Skitter, visit to Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office_, but contrary to his orders, Harry completely disobeyed the rules and chucked the badge out of a broken hole in the telephone box.

"Visitor, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the atrium."

Then, the floor of the telephone box started to shudder and sink to the ground, and remembering that he was supposed to be invisible, he quickly pulled up his invisibility clock's hood on. Slowly, a golden light started to illuminate his feet and rise slowly up from his legs to his torso, then blinding his eyes with the intensity of the light. The door sprang open with a creek and as soon as Harry's eyes became adjustedto the blinding light, he stepped out.

"Have a nice day, and thank you for visiting the Ministry of Magic."

Harry let his eyes travel across the atrium, studying his surroundings, and he saw, to his disappointment, that it was filled with witches and wizards, running all over the place. Some seemed to be pouring over the stacks of parchments in their hands; others were screaming directions to an official looking group, whom appeared to be Aurors. Other lower ranking Aurors were patrolling around, checking suspicious people with suspicious items. Two men at the far corner seemed to be having a shouting match too. In short, there seemed to be absolute mayhem in the Ministry.

It was no surprise to him that the Ministry would be crowded at this time of night, because now, the Ministry was well aware of Voldemorts' return, late as it might have been, but he wished that it would have been a little less crowded.

As stealthily as he could, Harry dogged between people and walked through the gates into the hall beyond trying not to bump into other people or poke them with his broom, and as he reached the elevators he waited silently for a lift to come by the chattering crowd.

Although many lifts descended clattering and jangling as they did so, Harry didn't step into any one of them. The lifts were too crowded; he would unquestionably attract unwanted attention, and so he would wait, for the right opportunity.

…

After long minutes of waiting, of dogging, and jumping here and there to avoid colliding into people, a lift descended, and a group of three wizards entered the lift. Praying that no more people would enter along with them, Harry wiped his hands on his robes as they started to get sweaty with anticipation and dashed inside the lift along with the men.

A big bearded wizard, that Harry remembered from his first visit here sighed and leaned against the wall.

"Never thought Fudge would put all these lives at stake just to keep the peaceof his mind," he said rubbing the temple of his head tiredly.

"None of us did, Bob," replied a black man, with a deep, strong voice.

"Not to mention the way he disgraced Dumbledore and Potter!" said the third wizard, his fiery red hair resembling his anger.

"He's afraid if you ask me," the black wizard said conversationally.

"_Afraid?"_ cried the red haired wizard angrily. "Afraid! We're all afraid of what You-Know-Who's capable of, but we've got to fight! There's no hiding from him Charles!"

"I _know, _David, I _know,_" sighed the black wizard, Charles, as he rolled his eyes. "I was just saying that _he _wasn't man enough to face it. That's all."

"So, who'd you reckon the next minister will be," Bob quickly asked, clearly trying to stop the other two from bickering at each other.

"I don't know Bob. Not a lot of Wizards are willing to take the job. To risky you know. With You-Know-Who and his followers running around killing people," mumbled Charles as he fidgeted un-comfortably, and then added in an undertone. "You remember what happened in the first war, when Minister Eastwood was murdered…I was there you know, I was the one who found him in the office…Still have nightmares about that day I do…"

"Yeah, I've seen his picture on the _Daily Prophet_. Barbarians is what they are, those Death Eaters, couldn't even leave him in peace after they killed him…don't know how they twisted his head all the way—Oh, sorry Charles," Bob said apologetically, as Charles shuddered involuntarily.

"I heard Amelia Bone's willing to take the risk," David said continuing on. "Perfect for the position if you ask me. She had experience with You-Know-Who in the first war. I swear I never saw that witch rest when he first rouse, that woman was always willing to help. And Amelia's fair," he added as an after thought.

"Yes, she would do well," Bob agreed, but there conversation was cut off by the relaxed woman's voice.

"Level four, Department for the Regulation and the Control of Magical Creatures, Incorporating Beast, Being and Spirit Divisions, Goblin Liaison Office and Pest Advisory Bureau…"

"Alright, this is our stop. Better hurry up, that fire-breathing-chicken grew a good ten feet yesterday."

He watched, huddled in the corner of the elevator, despite the specious room he had, as the men stepped out of the lift, but Harry didn't dare to press the button number nine, fearing that his cover would be exposed, until the three men were out of sight, and after what seemed an hour of time, the lift jangled to a stop and the cool woman's voice came.

"Department of Mysteries…"

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_A.n: Please, please review, I would love your opinions!

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	2. Chapter 2

**The Vicis Clock**

**By Abay**

**-Chapter-Two-**

_Revised_

**Department of Mysteries**

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Enjoy!

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_"Department of Mysteries," _the cool woman's voice informed him.

_Cling! _

_Cling! _

_Cling!_

Harry cringed at how much noise the lift was making, but did not stay back and wait to see if the loud clanging of the elevator had attracted any unwanted attention… he was so close now…he had no patience left at all…Harry could not focus on how loud his footsteps were echoing through the hall, how he could easily blow his cover, because all he could see was the black door at the end of the hallway…and it seemed so surreal…so dream-like…to be here…so close to his godfather who was away from him for so long.

Puffing, Harry skidded to a halt in front of the black door, and placed his hand on the silver handle. The first time he had ever set his eyes on this door, it had given him a sinister, dark and mysterious feeling, but now, the feelings vibrating out of that door was quite contrary to the last time he had been here. The door felt welcoming and warming towards him…almost inviting, and with no hesitance, he gladly pushed back the door as his heart beat against his chest with anticipation.

_He was going to see Sirius again…his godfather was just behind a veil…nothing but a mere, harmless veil…and when he'd find it, he'll pull Sirius back out… _

When Harry stepped in, he was greeted by the large circular room that every aspect in it was identical to the other, but Harry did not have time to spare on marveling how this room was extraordinarily constructed, so quietly, he shut the door, and as he had expected, the torches flared blue as the room started to rotate making him extremely lightheaded, and though he felt completely vulnerable and foolish in doing so, Harry closed his eyes tightly shielding them from the blinding blue streaks of light.

Finally, when the movement had seized, he opened his eyes, placed the broom on the floor and pulled out his wand instantly as he moved towards a random door. He would know the room immediately when he sees it, for the urge to rip open the veil had plagued his dreams and thoughts for too long.

Heaving in a huge breathe, he pushed the door open, and exhaled disappointedly as he saw a long rectangular room with an enormous glass tank in the middle of it. Knowing that this was not the room he desired, he left, and ingeniously, or so he thought, Harry left the door intentionally ajar to avoid the room from rotating, and confusing him out of his mind.

Moving on, Harry opened the door right next to it, but, to his annoyance, he found that again, it wasn't the Death Chamber either. This room had planets floating all over the place, and though the sight was breath taking and alluring, he tore his eyes away from it, and once again, left the door partly open.

As he was just about to move to the other door next to it, a sharp voice reached his ears, causing him to root onto his spot, and with nothing but utter fear, he felt his heart plung into his stomach. Someone was here.

"Who's there?" called the gruff voice.

Quietly turning around, Harry surveyed a witch and wizard with such fear that he was not able to let out a breath.

"Did you see anyone?" asked the wizard, spinning around in his spot.

"No," replied the witch, as she too inspected the room carefully. "But there was definitely someone here, they left there broom behind, firebolt if I'm not mistaken, and these doors are left open. I'm sure it wasn't one of us…we know our way around."

"Yes, I'm quite sure it's an intruder myself. I want you to call for backup. I'm willing to bet everything I've got that it's a Death Eater out here," he said in an undertone, as he pushed her, urging her to leave the room.

"I'm _not_ leaving you here alone! You might be outnumbered," she bit back angrily, swatting his hands away from her.

The wizard opened his mouth to argue but the witch cut him off inflexibly.

"_Don't argue with me Spins_!" she hissed. "_You know how stubborn I can be!_"

"Alright, alright!" he whispered in defeat as he pulled out his wand and the witch followed suite. "Keep your guard on, _be_ _discreet_ and _be careful_! I'll investigate the Brain Room. You'll do the Astronomy Chamber. Stun as soon as you hear movement. _Do not hesitate_. If any one of us isn't here by fifteen minutes, then we call for help. _No_ arguments!"

The witch however, didn't look like she was about to disagree this time, but merely nodded her head to show agreement, and Harry watched, still dumbstruck, as each one of them headed towards there assigned rooms….but the witch was moving right towards him!

The Unspeakable's sensed his presence! There was no time to spare! He needed to find the Death Chamber and fast! If they find him...if they catch him...he...he would be dragged out of here by the order...then it would be too late...and Sirius...this might be his last chance to save his Godfather.

_No_, cried a firm voice in his head. _You'll find the chamber in time! You have to save Sirius! _

The blood was pounding in his ears stopping him from thinking coherently…His heart beat even faster, and this time it was not out of anticipation, but trepidation, nothing but pure and utter panic.

_What the hell was he going to do! _

Irrationally, without thinking at all, he ran to the room right behind both the witch and the wizard, and flung it wide open, and before the Unspeakable's could take another step, he jumped in, and slammed the door shut.

"The time room!" he heard the witch breath, as he leaned heavily against the door, trying to calm himself down. "In there! Their invisible!"

_Oh god, what was he going to do now? It was over…done with! _

Faintly, he could hear the room outside spinning and rotating. Closing his eyes, he exhaled and inhaled, trying to clear his head, trying to decipher a plan, any plan that would get him out of this mess…that would get him to the veil without anyone hindering him or stopping him, but the ticking was all around him! And for the love ofMerlin he could not think straight! He couldn't!

_Tick…_

_Tick…_

_Tick…_

"_Damn it!" _he hissed angrily under his breath, and opening his eyes to survey what was distracting him from thinking plausibly.

There were clocks all around him, in every inch of this room. The big, the small, the round, the squared, but damn it, he did not have time to dwell on this room! He needed to get out! And as the panic started to overcome and overwhelm him, Harry found that his brain had gone void from any rational thoughts, and --

A muffled cry reached his ears. "Show me the time room!"

BANG!

With frenzy, both Unspeakable's lunged into the room and fired every spell as fast as they could around the room. Harry let out a yell of surprise, as the cast spells started to destroy the room around him, and slowly devour it into nothing but ruble. Glass shattered. Clocks blew up into millions of tiny pieces. Parts of the wall were blasted off, causing bits and pieces of stone to hit against his body.

Harry was able to reflect and shield himself from most of the spells, being invisible had many advantages, but a trip-jinx had hit him off-guard, and in haste to keep himself standing, he grabbed a big clock's arm which got turned in the process, as he tumbled down.

He fell to the ground with a howl of pain, and to his complete horror, he felt the velvety and smooth material slip off and slide to the floor.

_They had seen him. He was caught. _

The Unspeakable's stared at him wide eyed, too stunned for words...but for a few minutes...they remained as they were…still...unmoving...frozen. It was as though time had literarily stopped.

Hesitantly, he propped himself on his elbows, and said in a low voice. "I-I can explain, I-I–_bloody hell_!"

Abruptly, all the unharmed clocks started to turn backwards with an enormous speed, making the clock's arm impossible to see… the Unspeakable's started moving in a blur… beams of various colours flashed out of nowhere then disappeared. Broken clocks went back to place. Glass mended itself. He looked out of the window and he could see the sun rising and descending too quickly. People were coming in and out backwards with rapid speed. Light quickly spread, bathing it with sunlight, and drew back just as quickly, plunging him into deep darkness.

Harry just sat there, not moving from his position, and watched, dazed and shocked, not knowing what to do or how to act.

_What was going on? What had he done! _

As he saw these events happening...as he looked with horror at the clock arm that he pulled back, he slowly…very slowly… started to understand what was happening. He was going back in time. Somehow, he had meddled with time!

And as soon as Harry came up with that conclusion, a sudden gust of wind swirled around him, engulfing him deeper and deeper into darkness until he could actually feel everything whip past him so quickly. It was all a blur, nothing could be made out of this storm he had plunged into, it felt as though days had passed since he had been sucked into this black hole until it all came to an end when an almighty force slammed him into something so hard that he felt his heart clench in pain at the impact of the hit.

WHAM!

Harry let out a scream of agony as he felt his brain bounding fiercely and mercilessly onto his skull, and before he could even comprehend what was going on, he felt a tug behind his navel, and for the second time tonight, his feet left the ground with the swirling with a blast of air, and the howling of the wind in his ear. But the pain was so excruciating, so unbearable, that he did not seem to notice that he was being transported to a sinister place where he would surely meet his doom.

Harry's feet slammed into the ground and as the pain shot through his bleeding leg, he let out another howl of pain, and withered on the floor as he felt every part of him split, every part of him sting and pierce with pain, and slowly, very slowly, the pain started to decrees into a dull throbbing around his whole body. Gasping for breathe, Harry lay down on the ground, listening to the blood rushing through his ears, and fought the urge to slip away into the blissful darkness…

"Harry! Harry! Can you hear me? Are you alright?" said a nervous voice that was oddly familiar to him, but for the life of him he could not spare a thought right now…he was so tired…

"Harry, come on, wake up!" the voice now was shaking him, and grudgingly, Harry lifted his heavy eyelids to tell whoever it was to go away and leave him torest in peace, but the words' did not seem to leave his mouth as he spotted the figure peering down at him, because standing there in the flesh and bones was Cedric Diggory

_Cedric…it was Cedric…but...but surely he was imagining things…Cedric was dead…long gone…_

"Come on Harry, it's almost over, and the sooner you get up the sooner we can get you to Madam Pomfrey to look over that leg over yours," Cedric said, as he ripped a huge piece of fabric and rapped it around his…bleeding leg? He couldn't recall getting that injury…"There, that should stop the bleeding…I'm no healer so…this is all I can do for you. Now get up, we'd better get moving," he said, as he got up and offered him a hand. Speechlessly, with nothing but an expression of awe on his face, Harry took the hand and let Cedric pull him up to his feet.

"You alright Harry?" Cedric asked as Harry stared, with a slack jaw. Feverishly Harry shook his head, then turned around looking at his looming surroundings.

_Where in Merlin's beard was he?_

Turning around, he could feel the darkness in every corner of this place, he could smell the stench of decay and death, and the sinister feeling towards this place was almost drowning him. Looking beyond the endless row of tombstones, Harry could see the small black outline of a church, and further on to his left, he could difficultly make out fine looking old house on top of a hill that towered above them.

_No…this couldn't…it couldn't be!_

_But it all made sense, _contradicted a voice in the back of his head. No matter how far fetched it was, it made sense. He had gone back in time. Back to his fourth year by the looks of it, and at the exact moment he touched the portkey. It explained everything…the bleeding leg…his tattered robes...and Cedric.

Once again, like so many times this night, his heart pounded, if possible, even faster against his chest. He was going to meet Voldemort soon…He was going to fight him… but that wasn't what was worrying him, for what he was dreading was for more horrendous than that… It was Cedric's fate-- which was merely minutes away-- that was ever so eagerly awaiting to snatch away his life…but Harry would not let it…He would defy it, he was going to fight.

"Someone's coming…" whispered Cedric.

"What!" There was no time to spare, Cedric's death was walking right up to him, and he didn't even know it. He had to act quickly, before fate claimed its prize. "_Lumos!" _

Light erupted from the tip of his wind, putting whatever was in front of him into view…and then, he saw them…A short hooded man was walking towards them, and due to the light, he could distinctly make out what he was cradling in his arms. The scarlet red eyes shun so brightly, and he could see its narrowed eyes, hissing something that he couldn't make out, and by the sound of Cedric cursing colourfully under his breath, he had seen it too.

Wiping around, Harry turned and grabbed the older Huffelpuff by the shoulders. "Cedric take the cup and go! I'll hold him off; I want you to go straight to Dumbledore. Tell him it's Voldemort. Tell him it's a trap, thatBarty Crouch–"

"Don't be daft! I'm not leaving you --" But Harry, didn't even listen to another word Cedric had stubbornly said, because his scar had seared with pain beyond recognition, it was so agonizing that he felt he was going to die from it.

Biting back a howl of anguish, Harry said through clenched teeth. "Now-Go!"

"_Kill the spare," _a cruel voice hissed.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the figure of Wormtail raising its arm, and pulling back to perform the deadly curse, but swiftly, he pulled his wand out of his belt, swiveled around and cried. "IMPEDIMENTA!" The jet of red light hit Wormtail right in the face, causing him to fly over backwards, and slamming painfully into the ground.

_"Get the boy!" _

"GO!" Harry screamed before Wormtail could get up, and when Cedric, like the noble man he was refused to do so, Harry pushed him with all his might right on top of the cup, and to his relief, and to Cedric's utter horror, the portkey disappeared taking him along with it.

"_Get up you fool! Get the boy!" _Voldemort hissed from within the robes that had too fallen to the ground.

Harry turned around to find himself face to face with Wormtail, the man who was the causeof his parents death, and with out a thought what-so-ever, Harry pulled back his wand as the hatred pounded out of him, he swung his wand towards Wormtail sharply and yelled. "STUPEFY!"

"PROTEGO!"

To his horror and sheer fury, Wormtail had extracted a red shield that surrounded him, and uselessly, his red jet of light bounced off of it, and headed straight back at him.

"PRO—"

But before Harry could articulate the rest of the incantation, the spell which had countered back against him hit him squarely in the chest, and with a soft moan of pain, Harry keeled over backwards knowing no more…

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Cedric watched with pure horror as Harry started screaming at him, telling him to leave, to go back without him, and before he knew it, the younger boy had grabbed him scruffily by the front of his robes, and with a roar, pushed him unexpectedly, right on top of the cup. As the handle of the cup pierced into his back painfully, he let out a muffled cry and arched his back in pain, but when he had noticed that he had touched the cup, it was too late. His eyes widened with shock, and ignoring the pain in his back, he looked back at Harry, reaching out to grab him too, but to no avail, his surroundings were already starting to swim out of view. 

"Umph!" Cedric bit back a cry as he fell face forward on the ground, bruising his jaw, and though he was completely worn out by the ordeal he had went through today, Cedric jumped to his feet, turning around in his spot, hoping he would find Harry grinning at him somewhere from in between the crowd that started to accumulate around him…but Harry wasn't there…he was still at the graveyard…he was in danger!

"Professor Dumbledore!" he bellowed hoarsely, ignoring his parents who were fussing over him. "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore!"

"Cedric," a voice called quietly, though clearly from behind him.

Swiveling around, Cedric sighed in relief as he saw the midnight blue eyes, the familiar crocked nose and long silver beard. "Sir, it's Harry! He's still back there, at the graveyard! You-Know-Who was trying to kill us and he's still back there sir! You have to do something!"

Silence…everyone had gone completely quiet as soon as these words left his mouth, and he could feel their eyes staring at him, burning into him, and just as abruptly the voices stopped, whispers began to erupt all at once.

_"Oh God! You don't think? –" _

_"Don't be daft, the boy's completely gone off the rocker!"_

_"He's bloody mad!"_

_"That kid's lost his mind!"_

_"Preposterous!"_

_"I say he hit his head hard on something!"_

_"What? This must be a joke!"_

"The Dark Lord?" asked Mad-Eye eagerly as he emerged from within the crowd, leaving his electrical blue eye trained on him "Is he back?"

"I-I-"

"I want you to come straight to the office with me Cedric," Dumbledore said, cutting his answer off, as he stared at him warily; there was no twinkle in his eyes. "I need to know everything that happened tonight." Then he turned to Professor McGonagall and said sharply "Minerva, would you kindly go to Hagrid's hut, were you will find a large black dog. Fetch him to my office please. Alastor," he continued turning to face Mad-Eye as McGonagall swept away teary eyed. "I want you clear the crowd, search for any clues or any foreign wizard signatures in the area, then take the portkey, and trace it."

"Very well," Moody nodded, as he summoned the portkey towards him, and for an instant, Cedric thought he saw an odd twisted smile on his face, but knew he was imagining it, because a second later, his face turned into one that was grim and determined. "Come on now! There's no show here! Move along, move along!" he growled, starting to clear the loud chattering crowd around them

Indicating that he should follow him, Cedric gulped and walked with Dumbledore to the castle, pushing his way through the staring crowd.

This was not how he imagined his night would end, but far from it.

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_A.N: Please review! _


	3. Fooling Albus Dumbledore

THE VICIS CLOCK

BY ABAY

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-Chapter-Three-

Fooling Albus Dumbledore

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_Enjoy!

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_

With extreme and total worry, Sirius paced around the pumpkin patch, not even acknowledging his four tired paws who were begging for rest, but Sirius could not relax, he could not stay still. Harry had just gone through the final and most difficult task of all, and he couldn't help but feel anxious.

During the past months, someone, with no doubt under the orders of Lord Voldemort, was trying to slaughter his godson whenever the opportunity was open to him, in any way possible. If anything had happened to Harry tonight, he would never forgive himself, and to his thorough dismay, his instincts kept probing him, jogging his brain, telling him that something was going horribly wrong tonight…_utterly_ wrong, and these intuitions of his were never mistaken…they could always foresee if something had gone wrong…it had never failed him…but once.

Shaking his shaggy head feverishly, Sirius focused on his godson, whom he swore to Lily and James he'd protect like a son of his very own.

_Flashback_

_"Sirius, mate?" a nervous James called, leaning back on the couch, as he rapped his hands around his wife's shoulders. _

_"Yeah?" he said, fighting back a yawn, as he too leaned back into the couch that was opposite both the couples, and wrapping his hand around a mug of hot milk, he felt a little warmth spread through him. _

_"I…Lily and I, we need a favor," came the hesitant reply. At seeing both James and Lily uncharacteristically tense and uneasy, Sirius stood up straighter on his couch, and leaned forward his brow furrowed. _

_"What is it, Prongs?" he asked, looking between both of his friends worriedly, but when he saw the tears welling up in Lily's eyes, he said in a more strained voice. "What is it?" _

_A still teary eyed Lily sniffed and took in a deep shuddering breath to calm herself down. "Swear to me, that you'll take care of Harry when James and I die-"_

_"We've already been through this," Sirius said cutting off Lily's words which he heard more than often and which were starting to tire him. "Nothing's going to happen to you and James, Lily! Nothing at all!" he added fiercely, placing his mug a little too hard on the table, making the warm milk splotch all over his hands, but he didn't seem to notice._

_"Sirius…" said James, his hazel eyes boring into his grey ones. Never in his life had Sirius ever seen James so serious, so grave; never. "You now that we can't hide forever…you now that he'll get us sooner or later, now that someone keeps leaking information over to Voldemort…"_

_"I don't want you worrying about that James," he said sharply, and with a tinge of anger in him. "I'm on his tail and when I –" _

_"Don't be stupid Sirius!" James snapped back heatedly. "How many have tried to hide away from Voldemort and found themselves dead in the place they thought was the safest?" _

_"But you're perfectly –" _

_"Swear to me, Sirius!" cried Lily, cutting him off and_ _bursting into frustrated and fraught tears. Her shoulder sagged as though a burden was weighing her down, and she sobbed into her hands. The sight of Lily in tears had broken Sirius's heart. She was always strong, brave...he had never seen her in tears before._

_"Lily I…I" he started, not knowing how to react towards a crying woman, and with desperation for help, he looked back at her husband at loss, but James thankfully had taken over, and pulled his wife into a warm embrace, rubbing her back soothingly, as he whispered soothing words into her ears…_

_"We only need your word. We need to know that there'll be someone for Harry if were not." James finally said, looking at him in the eye, still holding a silent sobbing Lily in his arms. _

_"You know I'd do it without a thought Prongs, you know that I'll take care of him as a son of my own. You know how much I love little Harry…"_

_Sincere grey eyes met hazel and silently, James knew that his son would be in good hands after all. _

_End Flashback_

Once again, he shook his head as though trying to shake the memory off, when an old woman, McGonagall, walked briskly up to him looking quite frazzled and troubled. He felt his heart skip a beat, because now, he would know, now he would find out if his assumptions were true or false, and silently Sirius pleaded for the latter.

She stopped right in front of him then stared down at Sirius, no doubt wondering how on earth she was going to communicate with a stray, bear-like dog.

"Come – ah - come along," she said awkwardly, gesturing with her hands that he should follow her, so he silently and obediently, trotted after her towards the castle, dragging one paw after another for now, they felt heavy as steal.

* * *

Alastor Moody limped towards his office with a crocked smile upon his face though this day had proved to be a terrible one indeed. Many who passed him bowed their heads and paid no heed to this, but the naked and untrained eye could not see beyond what a veteran and wise one could, for this man was not who he appeared to be. This man was treacherous and underhanded. This man had lied, fooled and deceived many, even the great, to achieve what was far beyond his grasp. This man would slaughter and slay to gain what he sought after, for he was a Death Eater, a follower of Voldemort, the darkest of the immoral Lords that had ever lived to this day, and Death Eaters did not hesitate to kill if someone strayed upon their path, be it a mere innocent child or an old vulnerable man, because all they could see was the prize that they hunted hungrily at the end of the road.

AndBartemius Crouch could now see his prize clearer than ever before…It was gleaming only a few steps away! His task was nearly done here. All he had to do was fool Albus Dumbledore, one of the world's greatest wizards', and he had easily deceived him! In a few hours the Dark Lord will rise to power again, and Harry Potter, the fool will be dead. In a few hours, he would be by the Dark Lord's side praised above all others, for he was the sole Death Eater who had remained worthy and loyal to Him.

Barty shut his office door, and placed the Triwizard cup on his desk. He would remain here in this room, pretending to be searching for any trace in the portkey, but Barty already knew that it was untraceable.

Walking behind his desk, he pulled open a drawer and took out a jar that contained a few strands of hair. It would be sufficient for now because he would need this crippled disguise for only a day or so. Sitting down with a wide grin on his face, Barty added a bit of grey hair into his flask and grimaced. He _hated_ polyjuice potion, but it would be the last time he would drink it. As soon as the Dark Lord sends him an approval, he would kill the real Mad-Eye, and then Dumbledore would meet the same fate. Oh how he would enjoy that treat the Dark Lord had privileged him to.

_O yes,_ he thought grinning insanely. _That would be quite enjoyable.

* * *

_

When McGonagall and he reached the top of the moving staircase, she pushed the oak door open to reveal Albus Dumbledore sitting behind his desk looking calm and composed like he always was, and in front of him, seated on each end of Dumbledore's desk, were two couples looking extremely worried. By a vague memory, he could recall them as the Diggory's, but where Sirius hoped he would find a boy with unruly black hair and bright emerald eyes, he found another boy, with grey eyes, not as dark as his own, looking weary and exhausted.

"Ah, thank you Minerva," Dumbledore said inclining his head respectfully. "Leave him here."

McGonagall nodded stiffly, and after tearing her eyes away from the boy, she turned around and walked out of the room briskly and shut the door behind her with a soft _click. _

Sirius placed a hesitant paw in front of the other, as the occupants of the room looked at him warily, and only when his former headmaster gave him a gentle nod did he enter further into the room. Sniffing the air around him, Sirius could smell the stress and strain in the room, and as he looked back at Dumbledore he gazed at him with questioning eyes, but a silent stare at Sirius obviously told him to keep the form he was in. His former Headmaster turned to the boy, ignoring Amos Diggory's attempt to speak.

"I understand that you have gone through a painful ordeal tonight Cedric, but I must ask you torecall the events that had occurred after the task to me, we need to launch a search immediately." Dumbledore said gently choosing to ignore Diggory.

"I…I understand…" Cedric said quietly, looking down at the floor, but when his father made yet an other attempt to disagree, he looked at his father sharply and said with determination in his voice. "It's alright dad."

Exhaling deeply, Cedric started to explain the events in a hoarse whisper. He told them about how Harry had reached the cup before him, and saved him from the giant spider. How his godson generously offered him to share the glory, but when he had stared to explain how the portkey had transported both he and Harry, he hesitated, then told them of how Harry had started to suddenly scream and clutch his head. And then, he started to tell them of the hooded man that had appeared from within the darkness and walked towards them, cradling some creature in his arms.

"I thought that this was some part of the task," Cedric said in undertone. "I didn't believe Harry when he said that they were going to kill us."

"Are you meaning to tell me, that Harry had known that it was Lord Voldemort?"

Shuddering furiously when Dumbledore had spoke Voldemorts' name, Cedric nodded weakly.

"Yes…that would explain his scar hurting," Dumbledore said, muttering to himself, then sighing deeply he said. "I apologize. Please continue."

Taking another deep breath, the boy, Cedric started to tell them how the voice told the hooded man to kill them, how Harry told him to leave and inform Dumbledore, how he stubbornly refused, and how Harry had pushed him on top of the portkey, and when there was nothing to speak of anymore, Amos Diggory curtly said that the interrogation was over and that his son needed some rest and medical treatment.

His wife, who had turned ghostly white after Cedric had retold the events of this night, got up and moved towards Cedric, squeezed his shoulders, looking at him with a motherly concern. "Come on Cedric, to the hospital wing."

Nodding numbly, the boy got up shakily, and moved to the door supported slightly by his mother, but when his father opened the door for them, Cedric stood in his place abruptly, and turned to Dumbledore talking in a quiet voice. "I…I tried to save him sir…I really did."

Dumbledore smiled at him warmly and replied softly, "You have done all that was in your hands my boy, now rest, I believe that Madam Pomfery is waiting for you in the hospital wing."

Sirius watched as the Diggory's left the room, envious that it was their son who had returned and not his godson, and only when they were out of sight did he transform. Running a shivering hand through his disoriented hair, Sirius turned to the silver-haired man, his voice not able to rise above a whisper. "What are we going to do Dumbledore?"

"I have already asked Alastor to trace the portkey. We cannot start the search unless we get a trace or a lead. I will be going down there myself and investigate the scene--"

"What?" he cried horrified, his face whitening several notches. "Buttracing the portkeycould take ages Dumbledore! Time that we cannot spare! Do you realize that every minute we sit here uselessly Harry's life dangles closer to the edge—"

"I am aware of that Sirius," was Dumbledore's calm, irritating reply.

"Then we must do something!" Sirius said fiercely. "Act before it's too late!"

''I am afraid, that there is no lead, nor any clue left behind except for that portkey Sirius, and all we can do now is wait. It is our only hope Sirius, our only hope…"

* * *

It was bliss where he was, it was a place where you feel no pains, where you think no thoughts, but completely the opposite. It was a place of nothing. It was a place of rest, of sweat dreams and happiness, but when a throbbing sensation spread like wildfire through him, Harry felt himself drift away from that place, and he let out a groan of annoyance, wanting nothing but to stay there.

"Wake up Harry Potter," a voice that forever daunted his dreams hissed scathingly in his ear. "And witness your doom."

At hearing that cold, merciless voice he knew all to well, Harry's emerald green eyes snapped wide open to find scarlet ones staring right back at him causing pain after pain to stab through him like knives piercing his flesh. He tried to turn away from that awful pallid, snake-like face, but he was tied onto a tombstone so tight that the ropes felt as though they were ripping into his flesh.

His heart pounded against his chest fit to burst as he let his eyes dart beyond the ghastly face, and what he saw sent a wave of nausea through him. Wormtail lay on the ground, withering and sobbing, clutching a bleeding stump arm, but no one paid heed to him for the hooded figures in white masks surrounding him were keeping their eyes trained on Voldemort. Harry could see each one of their eyes, through the slits of their masks, glinting with a mixture of emotions he could not comprehend. And in the center of the circle was an enormous cauldron fit to carry a grown man, but the cauldron was broken in half, and it contents had spilled reveling a substance that was as black as darkness itself, and from somewhere within it, Harry could see a severed fleshless hand.

Harry did not know what to think; all of this was happening far too rapidly for him to grasp. It seemed that he had just shut his eyes for a moment and opened it to find all of this. How could he let all of this happen while he slept here oblivious? Swallowing his feelings of shock and guilt, Harry looked down at his arm, begging silently, that it was not his own blood Voldemort had withdrawn for his rebirth, but he knew not to hope, and proving his latter thought right, Harry saw a gash in his arm from which the blood was still flowing freely down his arm to the tip of his fingers, dripping onto the grass where a huge snake lay hissing.

_He had the protection then. _

A wide lipless smile spread across the unearthly face, and he touched Harry's scar, laughing madly as Harry yelled out in anguish as pain struck him viciously, and not until what felt like eternity did Voldemort break the his fatal touch, leaving Harry panting heavily for a lungful of air.

"Is this my great defeater whom all speaks of?" Voldemort hissed narrowing his scarlet eyes at him, then he whipped around facing his Death Eaters who shuddered at the fury in their master's eyes. "You think this child who feels pain by a mere touch of my finger could vanquish me?"

"Master!" a Death Eater cried getting down on his knees. "We were foolish! Forgive us for we knew not of—"

"_Crucio!" _The Death Eater shrieked as the Crutius curse hit him. His voice echoed through the grave so loudly that the dead might have even heard it. "Do not lie! The Dark Lord knows and sees all that is in your mind Avery. If you seek my forgiveness then serve me well and repay my debts. Wormtail here has already started in paying his, have you not Wormtail?"

"Y-y-yes M-m-ma-s-ster," was the hoarse reply. Wormtail was finding difficulty in letting the words leave him, he could not even summon the strength to sob in pain anymore. "I-I beg…beg o-of –y-ou…m-my…a-arm…p-plea-s-se!"

"But you deserve this pain," Voldemort said heartlessly as he moved closer towards the lying figure of Wormtail. "Had you come to your masters aid earlier then you would have never been in this situation. You understand this now, don't you?"

A weak and barley audible 'yes' was heard from Wormtail, but this did not seem to satisfy Voldemort for he stepped on Wormtails' stump arm, letting him wither and shriek with agony as he stepped harder, pressing his feet deeper onto the bleeding arm, intensifying the pain tenfold.

Cringing, Harry shut his eyes tight, not bearing to witness such cruel torture, but he could still hear the howls pain no matter how much he tried to block it, and oddly enough, Harry felt a pang of sympathy towards the man who sold him and his parents to Voldemort.

"YES!" Wormtail cried. "I UNDERSTAND! PLEASE! STOP! I UNDERSTAND!"

Voldemort, who didn't even seem sickened by his doings, lessened the pressure of his legs and raised his wand. "Good. Then may your faithfulness never stray from mine again Wormtail."

"Never…never…"

With a spin of Voldemorts wand, he conjured a formless silver molten hung in the air. It shuddered, and then by itself the hoary metal started to shape into a structure of a human hand which was flawless in every way. Gleaming in the light of the full moon which shun upon them, the hand soared toward Wormtails stump arm and fixed itself there. In an instant, his howling and weeping stopped.

"Master," whispered Wormtail crawling to Voldemort's feet and kissing them hem of his robes. "Thank you...it's wonderful. Thank you, thank you!"

"Get up Wormtail," Voldemort said ignoring his servants' gratitude. "And untie the bounds of the boy and give him back his wand, for now, we shall duel so that there will be no mistake in anyone's mind. Harry Potter had escaped me with sheer luck."

_

* * *

_

Authors Note:

* * *

_I apologize if this had taken long to update, but I had problems with Voldemort you see ;P I thought he sounded a bit out of character…I'm still not sure so I would appreciate your views about how I portrayed Voldemort! And thank you so much for your reviews and flames! They really are valued and they really are what encourage me to keep writing so please, keep them coming! _

_Refer to bio page for the title of next chapter and update and please tell me what you think about this chapter...I didn't like it much..._


	4. Torture and Pain

THE VICIS CLOCK

BY ABAY

* * *

--CHAPTER--FOUR--

Torture and Pain

* * *

_Enjoy!

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_

Harry struggled and kicked as Wormtail hauled him by the scruff of his tattered robes, but with a shove of his new silver hand, Harry fell face forward onto the ground. Any feeling of humanity he felt towards Peter Pettigrew dispersed instantly and hatred restored its place, but before he could curse the living day light out of Wormtail, Harry found himself once again yanked up by a strong metal hand. A roar of laughter rang in his ears as he was dragged into the center of the circle, right in front of Voldemort.

"Are you ready to face your death, Harry Potter?" You could hear the excitement in Voldemort; you could feel the very malice in him.

Harry did not reply, but instead, he raised his wand with hatred rushing through him and pointed at Voldemort. "_Cruc—"_

Before he could even let the curse leave his lips a beam of orange flame escaped the tip of Voldemorts' wand with an almost lazy flick. Hitting Harry squarely in chest, the curse sent him flying through the air and let him fall in a heap on the ground. The flame of fire was not burning him on the exterior, but it was defiantly flaming the inside of him, making him scream hoarsely, rolling on the muddy ground, clutching his head as the fire spread there.

"Ah, cheating now are we Harry?" Voldemort scoffed as he advanced on him. "And I thought Dumbledores' little boy would have known better."

The Death Eaters let out another round of laughter, enjoying the display of torture, and their master too appeared to enjoy it as he circled Harry like a predator ready to make another strike at his prey.

"Tell me to stop Harry, and I will. Beg me to make it end and I might kill you swiftly," Voldemort said looking down at him with his scarlet eyes, amusement evident in them, but Harry, who was now in so much pain that all he could do was twitch in an effort to get up, and splutter for breath, would not relinquish. He was not going to beg Voldemort for compassion; he was not going to die at his feet.

And yet the whole world was spinning around him. Blackness was threatening to overcome him. His body was trembling with the agonizing pain, his mind would surely go mad with the agony of it, but he tried to stand up for himself nevertheless.

"What did you say?" Voldemort hissed his eyes hardening as he heard Harry utter a word.

"_N-no…n-never_!" his voice was nothing but a hoarse whisper, but by the look of anger in Voldemorts eyes, Harry could tell that he heard him well.

"No?" Voldemort said quietly. The Death Eaters laughs now subdued as they witnessed the sheer fury on their Masters face. "You refuse my offer?" A wide lipless smirk suddenly spread across his face. "Then get up, fight like a man! Just like your fool of a father had. He died like worthless animal."

If it were not for the searing and burning pain that was immobilizing his limp form, Harry would have charged at him, ripped him limp to limp, but his body seemed to refuse to follow any command, despite the fact the he was starting to feel the flaming heat inside of him decrees.

"_I said get up!_" And with wave of Voldemorts wand a loud bang erupted and Harry found himself once again sent soaring into the sky only to fall again on his left arm which Harry felt crack beneath him.

A throaty scream of pain escaped his orifice as he clutched on to his broken arm, but he bit his lip to muffle his shriek into a moan, and only with summoning all the energy his adrenaline was conveying him with, Harry stood up though his feet felt so frail beneath him.

With gasps of breath, his emerald eyes started to scan his surrounding for his wand. He was nothing without it, but luckily, his eyes were keen and sharp, because in mere seconds, he found it lying near a Death Eaters' feet who was quite close to him.

Running with all his speed and might he could muster, Harry sprinted towards his wand, and by the corner of his eye, he saw a few of Voldemorts followers raise their wands, ready to act.

"Leave him!" Voldemort said amusedly watching Harry fall to the ground, grab his wand and scramble to get to his feet, but as he stood up, Voldemort had sent another jet of green light towards him. Readily and just in time, Harry ducked the curse, and by the sound of it, the Death Eater behind him had been hit with it instead, breaking the perfect ring they had formed around him and Voldemort.

Realizing that this was a root to escape and that this might be his only opportunity to do so, Harry ran, not even acknowledging that his broken arm was painfully swinging at his side. Jumping over the Death Eater who was whimpering on the ground, Harry vaguely heard Voldemort yell orders but he kept on sprinting as fast as his weak legs could carry him, formulating a plan in his head.

He did not know where he was going or how he was going to get back to Hogwarts, but if he ran fast enough, he might be able to reach the village and---

"AAARGH!" Something seemed to impede him in the darkness, rapping itself around his legs, making him fall to the ground, but this time, he kept a tight hold on his wand, not wanting to loose it again. Instantly, he started to struggle against whatever it was that hampering from running away, but the more he struggled, the more the hold tightened around his legs.

A soft swish of a cloak told him that Voldemort had apparate beside him, and his ears, which were pressed to the ground, could hear the sound of trampling; he could tell that the Death Eaters were coming too.

"_Release him Nagini_," Voldemort said in a serpents tongue to the snake which seemed to be the thing that rapped itself around his legs. _"I will let you feast on him later, but for now, release your hold."_

Obediently, Harry felt the snake slither away, hissing, but wasting no time, Harry staggered to his feet as soon as he was unbind, and started to retreat backwards away from Voldemort only to be pushed by one of the Death Eaters who had formed a ring around both himself and Voldemort.

"You're running away from me Harry," Voldemort said taking slow but staking steps in his direction. "Does this mean you've had enough? I can end this quickly Harry, just beg me to do it, beg me, and I'll torture you no more."

"Never!" Harry cried, his voice echoing through the graveyard.

"Then I'll have to teach you how to beg for my mercy before you die!" Voldemort released another jet of green light but this time, Harry was ready.

"STUPEFY!"

* * *

Severus Snape, who was all pale and shaken, was currently seated in Albus Dumbledore's office, with the sleeve of his arms rolled up revealing a revolting mark of black skull with a snake portraying out if its mouth. Dumbledore's eyes, usually bright with twinkles, were now grave and forlorn, yet knowing and determined all the same as he studied the engraved mark, his face not even cringing at the repulsive sight.

"It had happened then," he finally said, "sooner than we had anticipated."

"Yes," Severus said tonelessly, rolling down his sleeve quickly. "He is calling us."

"Then you must depart at once," Dumbledore replied instantaneously, but when he noticed what little colour was left in Severus drain, he added. "You knew that I was going to ask this of you if this was ever to happen, and it had. But if you are not up to it…"

Now Severus Snape was afraid of one thing and one thing only; the Dark Lord. But he had seen what the Dark Lord was capable of with his very eyes, and he didn't like it. The power, the magic that he possessed were beyond recognition, and that was why Severus had joined his ranks in the first place, but when he saw the ways the Dark Lord was going to channel that strength, he understood the path the world would tumble into, and he despised it. So, he turned against him, and joined the side of light.

The Dark Lord of-course knew nothing of this. If any hearsay reached his ears of his betrayal, he would find himself dying slowly, very slowly and devastatingly. It would be easy to refuse Dumbledore and join Voldemorts' ranks once again, as though he had never deceived him, but it wasn't the right thing to do.

"I am," he said steadfastly, standing to his feet.

"Then make haste Severus and send news of Harry to me at once."

* * *

"I told the both of you a million times!" Madam Pomfery cried out in exasperation. "I cannot let you speak to Diggory! He is a patient, and he needs rest, now leave my hospital wing or I shall magic you out myself!"

"But Madam Pomfery," Hermione said as though she was being unreasonable. "We only want to ask him a few questions about Harry—"

"No!"

"Because Professor Dumbledore won't see us—"

"That's because the Headmaster's too busy—"

"And no one else is telling us anything!"

"Well it's none of your concern!" Madam Pomfery said heatedly.

"But it'll only be a few minutes," Ron said. "Honestly!"

"No!" the nurse said through grinded teeth. "Now get out or else Professor McGonagall will hear of this, and believe me, she'll give you detentions that'll last you a life time. Now shoo!" She said grabbing both Ron and Hermione gruffly by the forearm and pulling them towards the Hospital Wing's door.

"But it's not fair, how come his mum and dad get to see him and we don't!" Ron argued indignantly as he struggled out of her grip.

"Because they are his parents and they have that privilege, and _you_ Ronald Weasley _don't_!" And with that, she pushed them out of the Hospital Wing and shut the door with a slam.

But Ron, who was rubbing his arms where the nurses' nails had dug in didn't seem to have any mind to give up. Instead he made to open the door only to find that it was locked.

"Pff! As if that could keep us out! _Alohamora!_" he said tapping his wand on the door knob, but nothing happened. "_Alohamora! Alohamora! Alohamra! _Oh damn it's no use. Why don't you give it a try Hermione? You're better at this than I am…well you're better at everything that I am," he added in a low mumble, but as he cleared out of the way so that Hermione could have a go at unlocking the Hospital Wing's door, he found that she had silent tears trailing down her cheek.

"Er…Hermione?..." Ron said looking at her fearfully not knowing how to handle a crying girl. "It'll…It'll be O.K."

"Oh Ron! I'm so scared," Hermione cried out flinging her arms around his neck. "What if something awful happens to Harry?"

"I-I…err…don't…worry Hermione, I'm sure he's alright…." Ron said, feeling the heat rise up his face, as he patted Hermiones' bushy head awkwardly.

* * *

With a swish of his black cloak, Severus Snape disapparated to the site where the Dark Mark had summoned him to, and by the look of this place, it seemed to be a graveyard though oddly, it was lit by a glowing light, and if his ears were not deceiving him, he could hear a beautiful song of a phoenix that made the cries of the panicking Death Eaters nothing but a haze in the background.

As though allured by the site, Severus kept his black eyes trained at the connected beams of light as he pushed between the Death Eaters that were hollering so that he could reclaim a place in the circle, but suddenly, as soon as the golden beam connected with the Dark Lord's wand, beams of gold shot in the air, forcing him and the other Death Eaters to retreat backwards as a dome started to formulate.

He could see that Potter's wand was starting to shudder in his hold, and by the sweat dribbling down his face, the boy was finding it hard to keep things under his control, but his wands' reaction was nothing compared to the Dark Lord's for his was vibrating uncontrollably and for the first time in his life, he saw a mixture of shock, anger and fear etched upon his Masters' features.

A loud piercing shriek filled the air, as a ghostly hand portrayed from the wand.

_"What is this magic!"_ a Death Eater cried in panic voicing Severus' very own thoughts.

He too, did not comprehend what magic this was, but he could tell-- by the look on his Master's face and by the soothing voice of the Phoenix--that it was not an incantation of the Dark Lords'. How could a horrible being create something with such beauty? From where he was standing, it looked at though Potter was in control, but he had never thought that this boy possessed such magical potential in him, not even in his wildest dreams.

Another thunderous scream of pain erupted from the Dark Lord's wand as hoary fingers started to wedge their way out of the wand tip until a hand blossomed from it, and the hands seemed to be pulling itself out of the wand until a silvery figure of an unfamiliar man emerged out of it, looking around with wonder.

A woman's deafening shriek erupted now, and Severus saw with shock that he indeed did know who this was. It was the figure of Bertha Jorkins who was a student with him at Hogwarts though a few years above him.

Diverting his sight back to the Dark Lord's wand, Severus could make out a new form that was pulling its way out of the wand now, and at seeing the almond shaped eyes, Severus took an intake of breathe from the shock of it; it was Lily Potter.

Realization dawned as he became conscious of these strange events. These people were none other than the last killings of the Dark Lord, but with recognition more inquiries materialize demanding fulfilling answers. Was this a diverse form of Prior Incantantment? But if it was, then why were the Dark Lord's victims appearing other than the spells that were cast? And what had initiated this reaction from both wands in the first place?

The questions would have kept flowing, for there were many of them oozing into Severus' mind, but for now, he let hatred rush into him when he saw a figure blossom out of the wand. It was a man that he thought he would never set his eyes upon ever again, a man which he, and every single person present in this grave yard loathed, save for one person; Harry Potter.

* * *

One would have thought that Harry Potter had gone completely insane by the smile that had crept upon his face, but if one would have known Harrys' history, then one would have thought how heartbreaking and tear-jerking the boys' life story was, for now, Harry Potter thought himself exceedingly lucky, for this was his second opportunity in his life to speak to his deceased father and mother, be it be minutes or mere seconds, for rarely did any orphans get a chance to speak to their departed parents. It was a chance of life time.

"Mum," Harry whispered as they approached him. "Dad…"

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_..-.._

_Authors Note _

_..-..

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_

_I apologize for the wait, but school started, and I don't leave school until it's 4:00 pm (I'm on the volleyball team) and by the time I study for upcoming quizzes and tests, and do my homework and projects, plus the other stuff in between it's already 9:00 pm. Time fly's by so quickly when you're having fun! ---I'm being sarcastic by the way (We've just started school I can't believe how much work they're already giving us!). _And_ we've got these family gatherings every weekend, so you can see how busy my everyday in my life is. … Anyway, I hope this chapter's worth the wait!_

_There's something else I wanted to clear out before I stop my rambling. Someone mentioned in a review that there's no such thing at the crutius curse. I've checked that in JK Rowlings books and I realized that I have been spelling it wrong all along._ Cruciatus_ is the right spelling if anyone's curious. But thanks for making me aware of that! Always point out my flaws, that's what makes me better ;) !_

_Upcoming Chapter in The Vicis Clock---: HIS PROMISE : _

_And please, don't forget to review/ flame ! _

_I'll try to get then next chapter up quicker! _


	5. Meeting The Dark Lord

**Warning! **

**Half Blood Prince Spoilers! If you have not read the sixth book, though I highly doubt it, do not read on! **

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THE VICIS CLOCK

BY ABAY

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--Chapter--Five--

--Meeting The Dark Lord--

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_Enjoy!_

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_---The Graveyard of Tom Riddle_ _

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_

Due to the situation he was in, one would have thought that Harry Potter had gone completely insane by the smile that had crept upon his face, but if one would have known Harrys' history, then one would have thought how heartbreaking and tear-jerking the boys' life story was. For now, Harry Potter thought himself exceedingly lucky, for this was his second opportunity in his life to speak to his deceased father and mother, be it minutes or mere seconds, for rarely did any orphans get a chance to speak to their departed parents. It was a chance of life time.

"Mum," Harry whispered as they approached him. "Dad…"

A graceful, yet sad, smile spread across his mothers face, as though she knew the very thoughts that were accumulating through Harrys' mind. Enthusiastically, he returned her a smile, though a bit shakily, but when he turned to his father however he found that he had turned around to face Voldemort whose face was fearful and gaunt. His father seemed to have no intention on letting his hateful gaze come to an end, but he finally tore his eyes away, turned around and knelt beside Harry placing a hand upon his shoulders, which he had expected to pass right through him.

Harry took an intake of breath as his fathers hand made contact with him, for the hands of James Potter were cold as a blustery weather of wintry ice. A sensation of touching a lifeless dead body coursed through him causing Harry to swallow hard due to the bile that was threatening to escape him.

"Harry," his father said squeezing his shoulders tightly. "I want you to hold on son, as long as you can. Keep your hold for a while longer."

He shut his eyes tight and nodded his head with sheer determination, but keeping his hold on his wand was proving difficult, for the wand vibrations were increasing by the minute, and the uninjured arm was getting sweaty. He feared that the wand might slip out of his one handed grip.

"Listen to me carefully Harry." His mother was speaking now. "As soon as we tell you to leave, I want you to break the connection—"

"But there's no way for me to return," Harry said, his voice sounding strangled. "There's no portkey to take me back, and I'm not fit to run—"

"Then you disapparate out of here, get as far away as possible," whispered his father, fearing that he might be overheard. But there was no need of whispering for the screams of the silvery figures, which were accumulating since the connection was still intact, drowned away any of their words before reaching Voldemorts' ears.

"_What?" _Harry said through clenched teeth as the tremors of his wand amplified.

Fear coursed through him as realization dawned; he could not escape! There was no portkey, he had no chance of fleeing, and he was not in any way knowledgeable nor trained to apparate his way out of this graveyard, he would unquestionably splinch himself, and when that happens, well, he might as well be handed to Voldemort on a silver platter! It would be quite a vulnerable situation to be in indeed.

The only way to survive through this, though impossible the prospect may be, was to fight. He was destined to find himself dueling for his life in the end sooner or later, and perhaps it was better if he met his fate sooner. How many lives would elude death if he vanquished Lord Voldemort tonight? _Countless._ How much impiety would relinquish if he destroyed the very foundation and backbone of evil itself? _Innumerable_.

Setting his mind on a choice that could possibly lead him to his own doom scared him senseless, but Harry spoke his haunting thoughts nevertheless, "_No._ I can't…if I end this now, if I kill him then it'll be over, it'll end."

A flicker of light flashed through Harrys' emerald eyes as his minds eye foreshadowed a world were no blood was shed ruthlessly. Were no greed or malice existed. Were no treachery or hatred could weave its way into peoples hearts spoiling them and poisoning others like a deadly plague, and at seeing that same shimmer of hope that subsisted in her once upon a time, Lily Potter smiled at her son, all knowing of her sons heart desires.

"We know your woes, we lived in a time of war just like a time that you're about to pass through, but listen to us Harry, do as we tell you. Now is not the time to ponder on revenge and nor is it the time to loose yourself in what might come to be if you took Voldemorts life tonight."

Harrys face screwed up into one of great loss and confusion. He was torn between two alternatives; to flee or to fight. And to him, the latter seemed more rewarding, for if he escaped, then death would claim so many lives, but if he fought…He knew his chances were very narrow…but there was hope…he could do it…couldn't he?

Seeing that Harry was growing weary from both the shuddering of the wand and from the thoughts he was struggling with, James spoke, knowing that his words would end the feud in Harrys' head.

"Taking away lives is not a game, it's not that simple. Voldemort can't be killed that easily Harry. He breached the laws of nature; he succeeded in gaining immortality in ways that are even beyond your realms of imagination. In time you will understand, but for now, save yourself."

At these revelations, Harrys' emerald eyes questioned his fathers with a mere gaze, but he knew that now was not his opportunity to do so, for around them, the Death Eaters had started to send curses at Voldemorts' command, trying to break through the web of light, but it would not falter, the web stood strong not even shuddering at any force of dark magic.

He could see Voldemort was now mumbling under his breath, reciting an incantation that was way beyond his expertise and comprehension.

"Tell me what to do," he said stiffly, his face dripping with cold sweat.

* * *

_---Hogwarts, by the pumpkin patch_ _

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_

Sirius watched in his dog form—which he usually kept more than his human one-- as his new Patronus form sped across the ground, standing out clearly against the murky black sky, until it was nothing but a white speck gleaming upon a sheet of darkness, and once more, he presumed his pacing, his brain puzzling, buzzing with questions that was starving for any answers.

Though it felt like days, it had been hours since he heard any news of Harry, and he was sick with worry. All the information that Dumbledore had notified him with was that they were unable to detect the portkey, but he kept assuring Sirius not to loose hope, for he had sent a trustworthy spy to bring bearings about Harry. But who that spy was Dumbledore would not tell, for every time Sirius would inquire him on who it was, Dumbledore would keep saying that in time he would be revealed to all.

But Sirius was known for his impatience and his recklessness, and now he was starting to growl with concern, thirsty for any news of Harry, be it dire or good news, though Sirius desperately pleaded for the latter. And if by the dusk of dawn no news reached him, then he vowed to himself that he would go against Dumbledores' wishes and search for Harry himself.

As his paws grew tired and weary from walking back and forth, Sirius slumped by a pumpkin and let out a soft mournful whine. His black eye-lids started to drop with exhaustion, but he could not rest, not until his godson was far away from Voldemorts grasps.

Looking up at the moon that was starting to fade behind veils of silvery clouds, Sirius let out another somber howl, wishing that his only friend, his _brother_, was here to share a part of his heavy burden, for he was the sole person in the world he could turn to in his times of need. But soon, he knew, Remus would come, for that was were his message was heading this very moment.

* * *

_---The Gore_ _

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_

Remus Lupin lay sprawled on his wooden floor, pieces that used to be a mug lay scattered beside him and the robes which he wore were shabbier and grungy more than they usually were. No more than a few hours ago did his ordeal of transforming into a werewolf come to an end and once again, Remus' body altered into his own human form, leaving him exhausted and worn out after that painful torment he had to go through each month.

Although he had gratefully accepted the wolfsbane potion that was provided by Albus Dumbledore, the transformation of his human body into a werewolfs' was still unbearably excruciating. Despite the fact that the wolfsbane kept his mind and lessened the anguish through out the alteration of his body, it still did not condense the pain that felt like a blaze of fire in the interior of him when his bones and joints would start to reform, growing, stretching his skin as they grew rapidly…

Suddenly, his werewolf senses which were exceedingly strong at this time of the month kicked in as an abrupt whiff of air reached his ears. Raising his head slightly, Remus gazed around blearily, until his eyes set upon a tiger patronus at the centre of the room.

Knowing that Remus Lupin was playing a spy's role, the Order Members scarcely sent him a message unless it was extremely significant, but he pulled himself to his feet nevertheless, immediately taking the necessary precautions by silencing the room and pulling down the shutters of his window with a flick of his wand, concealing himself from any of Greybacks' spies who might be ordered to surveillance his every move.

Striding over to the foreign patronus, Remus addressed it in a hoarse whisper. "Speak."

The tiger's wide eyes blinked then spoke in a human tongue, revealing the voice of Sirius Black, which had left Remus taken aback because this was not Sirius' patronus form that he recognized.

_"Remus, I can't explain much at the moment, but Harry's in trouble and I really need your help. Meet me at the Pumpkin Patch as soon as possible."_

Then with a sudden wisp, the tiger patronus burst into a sparkle of silver and diminished, leaving Remus stunned and sore in the inside. Instantaneously, Remus summoned himself some clean robes, though they were just as shabby and frayed as they always were, and dressed himself quickly, letting some thoughts coarse through his mind as he did so.

_Hogwarts, especially under the eye of Albus Dumbledore, was perfectly safe, so how could anything happen to Harry while he was under the watch of Dumbledore? _He thought with panic as he donned his trousers. _But then again_, a more fearful voice said, _if the likes of Wormtail capable of fooling Dumbledore, then other were. _

And with that fearful thought, he pulled on his black cloak and disapparated to the gates of Hogwarts without any further ado.

* * *

_---The Lair

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_

When a Death Eater came up to Severus informing him that the Dark Lord had requested to meet him, he found his master incensed and enraged more than he had ever seen him before, for Harry Potter escaped from his grasps once again, and though Severus Snape would never admit this openly, he found the stunt of magic the boy had come up with was extraordinarily remarkable indeed.

The minute he pushed back the black doors open and entered the Dark Lords' lair, a curse like none other hit him, making him yell hoarsely in agony, waiting until his punishment ended, and when the Dark Lord finally did raise his wand, he hissed. "Get up Severus."

Trembling to his feet, Severus stood, instantaneously washing away his mind from any thoughts, and when his eyes looked back into those scarlet ones, he felt the Dark Lord search his eyes for any treachery and disloyalty, but he knew that he would find none, for the only skill that Severus could master as the Dark Lord was Occlumency. He knew how to hide his memories from his foe, he was not ignorant. For if it was not for his wide knowledge in Occlumency, he would have been caught in his double agent role long ago.

"I see no remorse in you Severus," the Dark Lord said, standing up from his seat of a throne.

"I have none, I am your most faithful servant my lord."

His mind was blank; he was thinking of nothing as he bowed before the most villainous wizard that ever existed.

"No Remorse? You have no guilt Severus? Not even when you left your Master frail and powerless. Tell me my _faithful servant, _"he spat narrowing his red eyes, "where were you when I needed you most?"

"My Lord," Severus said, bowing to his knees. "Forgive me for my ignorance, but I had thought you finished all this years."

"And yet you remained with Albus Dumbledore all these years, deploring for a place among them. You thwarted me when I could have regained my power three years ago. You have betrayed my trust Severus, and you know the fate that meets my deserters," the Dark Lords' eyes flashed dangerously as he raised his wand.

"My lord, I beg you to listen to me!" he cried, panic overcoming him as the Dark Lords intentions became clear to him. "I admit, that I did all I could to prevent Quirrell from gaining the stone, but I knew not that it was for your need! Forgive me! If I had known, then I would have rushed to your aid."

His master hand hung mid air as he scrutinized him. He held his breath as the sweat dripped down his pallid face, and not until the Dark Lord spoke did he let out a relieved breath. "True, you knew nothing of my plans three years ago. Proceed."

Calming down as he saw that the Dark Lord was willing to pay him mind, Severus went on. "I will not doubt that I have turned to Dumbledore to escape the prisons of Azkaban, but when I felt the Dark Mark burn again, I was ready to join your side my Lord, and only by staying a few hours at Hogwarts, I made certain that I still kept my task as a spy, and I assure you master, that I am willing to do all that is needed of me. All I need is your command."

Slowly, but still calculatingly, the Dark Lord sat upon his arm chair, and gazed down at him for what felt like ages, until he finally spoke softly, easing the apprehension that was threatening to break his control over his emotions. "Very well," he said softly, "I shall let this pass, but if I ever see a single sign of betrayal, then mark my words Severus, _you will meet Lord Voldemorts wrath!_ Now leave my sight!

Shuddering profoundly at hearing the Dark Lords name, Severus walked out of the lair, not daring to give his back to his master, with his head bowed, letting his master fade into darkness, away from his sight.

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: **Authors Note** :

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_Hehe, now before you go throwing tomatoes at my face, I really want to apologize for the wait! I'M SORRY! I know, I know, this is a revised version so it's supposed to finish quicker, but it feels as though I'm starting from scratch and school's not helping either. Projects and tests and blah, blah, blah…I'm sure you know what I mean!_

_And as for_ Convincing Harry _readers…I'm sorry too! I have not abandoned the story; it's just that I'm suffering with severe writers block!_

_You can check out my bio page if you want to know how my progress is (( I update my bio page weekly )) and if you've got any questions, feel free to ask, you'll also find the answers there._

_I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner, but until then, please, please_REVIEW_ or _FLAME ! _:D_


	6. In the Hands of Evil

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THE VICIS CLOCK

BY ABAY

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-Chapter-Six-

-In the Hands of Evil-

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_Enjoy!_

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_--- Location unknown_

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With another last spin, Harry fell to the ground on his bloody leg, causing it to erupted with pain, but he was too drained and frail to even muster a cry of pain. And the more he tried to move or drag himself to his feet, the more his head would start to spin out of control, and the more his vision would began to move in and out of focus. He couldn't tell where he was anymore. All he could see was a road of never ending darkness.

Despite all feeling of ill and anguish, Harry tried to get up, he tried to leave this wretched place he landed himself into, but his body refused to move. He did his utmost to fight the restlessness and sleep that was dominating every inch of his body, but his efforts were inadequate; he was worn too out.

_Get up, _a determined voice cried in the back of his head. _Get up; you've got to leave this place! _

He knew that the voice was right; he knew that it was not safe for him to linger in this foreign place, for Voldemort and his Death Eaters, he knew, were pursuing him at this very moment. But his body beseeched him to rest. It begged him for piece of mind and heart. And it too cried in a weak voice imploring him for mercy, claiming that it could not go on.

And though he knew he would regret his unsound decision later, Harry found himself listening to the second voice, wanting to lull himself into a soothing sleep. And not moments later, Harry stopped struggling to keep himself conscious and slumped on the soft ground, falling into a deep slumber.

Ah, it was bliss, not to feel, not to think, not to worry…

* * *

_--- Hogwarts: The Quarters of ''Alastor Moody''_

* * *

Hours had passed since Bartemius Crouch had received news from the Dark Lord informing him that Harry Potter had escaped; disapparated to some unknown location. And now his orders were to wait here, for it was the most likely place for Potter to turn up in.

So here he was, sitting in his 'office', keeping one eye on Potters map of Hogwarts and the other trained on the door for it could see through all barriers impeccably.

Thus far many witches and wizards came and left the grounds of Hogwarts. Most who Barty remembered were Aurors or high ministry officials, but they did not worry him in the least…what worried him now was the arrival of Remus John Lupin, for the man was a besmirched beast, a_ werewolf_, and creatures of that kind were keen and sharp…He would have to avoid the fiend lest his role of deceptions be disclosed.

* * *

Remus Lupin walked into the grounds of Hogwarts only to be greeted by utter and complete silence, not even the rustle of any animals could be heard. Slightly unnerved by this stillness, Remus treaded upon the grass faster, his footsteps invading the hushed silence as they echoed into the distance.

Turning left, Remus could now see the dark slit house of Hagrids' hut from within the darkness. Heart beating faster with every motion, he walked even more hastily, wanting to meet his old friend soon and hear what ill news he had, though he wished he did not have to.

Reaching the gigantic brick hut, a loud snore reached his ears, signaling to him that Hagrid was fast asleep in his bed, but he did not turn back, for he had not come here to speak to Hagrid, though he did enjoy having chats with him ever since his childhood days at Hogwarts. No, Remus was here to meet his old friend Sirius Black, who had distinctively told him to meet him by the pumpkin patch, which was were he was standing right now, yet he could not see any sight of a black dog anywhere.

Spinning around in his spot, Remus searched for Sirius' whereabouts. _"Sirius!"_ he hissed in an undertone. "_Sirius!_ Sirius, where the—"

A bark from behind him caused him to jump slightly in fright, and he turned around to find a black dog looking at him. He glared slightly at it, but the dog disregarded his piercing glare and barked yet again.

"Keep your voice down!" he whispered to the dog striding towards it, but the dog made no retort. Instead, it turned around and trotted away, then turned its shaggy head to him, barked again and nodded his disheveled head, urging Remus to follow him.

Swearing slightly at Sirius' blatancy, Remus ran after him, glancing this way and that, hoping that no one heard Sirius' barks and had come to investigate.

Finally, Sirius had stopped by the whooping willow -- though he stood a good distance away for the tree would start to clobber them if they trespassed its territory-- and only moments later, he skidded to a halt right beside him, slightly puffing. Impatient as he always was, Sirius nudged him in the leg, indigating to Remus that he should hurry up.

"Alright, alright," he said as Sirius nudged him for thesecound time.

Igniting his wand with light, both he and Sirius blinked slightly, having been accustomed to their dark surroundings. Squinting, he looked around for a twig, which was not difficult to find as there were so many of them lying around on the ground, waiting to be picked up. Bending, he grabbed any random twig he could find and poked it with his wand, making it expand and lengthen greatly in size until it became quite a long stick.

Remus held the long stick at its end and moved closer, though very attentively, towards the whooping willow, and as carefully as he could, he held out the stick and stretched out his long arms. Swiftly, before the tree could even react, he pressed the knot he knew all to well with the stick, immobilizing the tree completely.

Sirius soundlesslyslid through a gap in the roots and quickly, before the tree could batter him with its thick branches, Remus went after him, entering the shrieking shack, only to find Sirius Black standing in front of him looking more ragged and thinner than ever.

* * *

_--- The Quarters of Albus Dumbledore._

* * *

Albus Dumbledore sat in his chair behind his magnificent desk with his blue eyes closed as he raised the tip of his wand to his forehead, transferring a thread of hoary memories into a pensive which swirled with faces. Sighing deeply, he lowered his wand and placed it gently upon his desk.

He had been at this for an hour. Pacing…and looking into his pensive…Pacing…then looking into his pensive again, forhis mind was disturbed tonight with the news Severus had brought him, and he was searching for the solution to his problem…Or seeking for his _problem_ to be more precise.

Hours ago, Severus had come to Albus with a lengthy report. He told him all about the reaction between Harry and Tom Riddles wands. He told him of what he referred to as 'ghosts' blossoming from Riddles wand, though Albus new they were far from the form of ghosts or spirits. And furthermore, the most astonishing thing that his spy informed him tonight was that Harry had disapparated, where no one new.

This of course, was all passed on to the very anxious godfather, who Albus feared might do something reckless, for the man was on the edge, itching to help his godson in any way possible. But Albus would not have Sirius running across the country aimlessly,becuase the man, although exceptionally intelligent and bright, would be a hindrance more of a help. It would not do Harry well if he came back and found his godfather soulless, and Albus carried about Harry too much to let him loose what was dear to him.

Now knowing Sirius Black from his days of Hogwarts and his working days with the Order of Phoenix, the man was hasty and uncontainable. He would always jump into what he thought to be solutions without any second thoughts, and only when Albus told him that the Auror squads, and other Ministry Officials would be out there searching for the boy, did Sirius calm down from his frenzy and listen to sense.

Going back to the situation at hand, he had deduced that this news was both dire and good, for now that Harry was out of Riddles reach, then he was by far much safer, and all that was left of his task was to locate his apparition point. But Severus, unfortunately, had come with more grim news, making the situation more complicated indeed, for he had heard from fellow Death Eaters that there was a spy among their ranks…right here…at Hogwarts…and the question was; _who was Voldemorts spy?_

_

* * *

_

_--- The Shrieking Shack._

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After Sirius' long winded explanation of these nights passed events to Remus, Sirius slumped back into the worn out and tattered bed, laying back his head. He let out a heavy sigh of weariness, leaving him to pace up and down restlessly in the dingy room that was specially made for his transformations at his days at Hogwarts, as Remus was sure his old friend had done night and day.

He turned around to Sirius, opened his mouth to speak, but shut it and went back to pacing, not even acknowledging the dust rising up to his robes. He knew no words that could ease his friends sorrow right now, for he knew that no words could relieve _his _own misery.

"We should have killed Wormtail that night…"

Hearing Sirius abruptly speak, Remus stopped in the middle of the room, and turned around slowly staring at Sirius. "_What?" _

"I said we should have killed Wormtail when we had the chance," Sirius said tonelessly, gazing at the ceiling, as though the prospect of murder was something quite normal.

"It was Harrys' wish to spare Peters life," he said, staring at Sirius.

"That doesn't matter!" Sirius cried, standing up suddenly. "Don't you see? This would have never happened if I'd have killed him!"

"This isn't your fault, you didn't know that any of this would have happened!" Remus said firmly, banishing any thoughts of guilt from Sirius' mind.

"I know," he said sighing and running a hand down his grubby face. "It's just that I can't do one thing Remus, _one damn thing_ to help my godson!"

"I…Don't worry Sirius...Harry's already fought his way out of Voldemorts grasps…I'm sure he'll pull his way through this," Remus said, in what he hoped to be comforting though he knew his words were less than enough.

With weary grey eyes, Sirius looked at him, and sat back down slowly onto the bed, thinking of what Lily and James would think of him now. Sighing deeply for what felt like the millionth time tonight, hemuttered dejectedly, "I hope so Remus…I hope so…"

* * *

-..-..-

--- Authors Note ! ---

-..-..-

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**_Hah! I think that this is the quickest update yet! I'm so proud! _**

**_Regarding the issue on how Harry disapparated, it's going to be answered…and something else happens too before he disapparates out of the graveyard, which will be revealed in later chapters-- (for others who had read this before, you'll know what it is)_**

**_Anyway, that's all I have to say for today, but there's the usual last thing!_** **Please Review**_, **I'll really appreciate it, because your opinion always matters.**_


	7. The Spy

The Vicis Clock

By Abay

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-Chapter-Seven-

Revised

The Spy

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In the midst of the deep darkness and shadows where daunting creatures dwelled, a fourteen-year-old lay huddled upon the damp and muddy ground. The boys' chest rose and fell in an un-normal rate…He almost seemed akin to a corpse for his face was sickly and beyond paleness. 

His shivering hands were unconsciously wrapped around himself and his legs were drawn to his chest trying to get a hold of some warmth yet it was of no use, for every intake of breath sent a gust of chilled wind into his lungs, making his teeth clatter so much that his bloody jaw grew weary of it.

The icy current of air coursed through him, stiffening his every limp with frostiness; but if it were not for that chilling blustery weather that pierced through his body, then he might have never stimulated from his sleep.

With a short shuddering intake of breath, Harry Potter's emerald eyes suddenly snapped wide open, as though someone had screamed in his ears. He laid down for a minute or two, gathering his thoughts, and finally, for the first time since he had landed in this place, Harry raised his head feebly to look around at his surroundings, but the darkness barred him from any sight.

Holding his breath, Harry strained his ears, trying to hear a sound that would give him an idea of where he was but all that could be heard was an eerie silence that made this place far more terrifying than it already was. Fearfully, his heart started to beat with a rapid speed as his uninjured arm felt its way blindly across the ground in search for his wand….

"Wand…" he called croakily for it. "Wand! _Lumos!_"

A few feet in front of him, light flared revealing a muddy path where large roots penetrated deep into the ground. Stretching his arms and using his feet to push himself forward, Harry grabbed his wand and raised it above his head disclosing trees that towered over the likes of Hagrid. But the light he had conjured was meager because it could not infiltrate deeply into the darkness that seemed to be boundless.

Groaning, Harry dropped his head to the ground in defeat and wished that all sentiments would leave him as the problem he had thrown himself into was now way out of his hands. He was alone, weak and wounded, held captive by a stubborn shadowy mist that did not seem willing to raise the veil of night it had draped around him…

Yet if he had looked more closely, he might have noticed a pair of pale, sapphire eyes following him that he knew not of.

* * *

"What are you doing?" the first centaur's voice said harshly with rage as he raced towards the white-blond haired centaur, placing his palomino body in front of him. "Leave the boy be, you cannot help him! We are not donkeys to gallop after stray humans in our forest!" 

"Have you no eyes Bane? Do you not realize who that boy is!" the following voice replied with frustration.

"Certainly I do—"

"Then step aside! The sooner he leaves the forest, the better!" the second sapphire eyed centaur said edgily as he brushed passed Bane though he knew that the older centaur would not leave him be, and as though to prove his thoughts right, the sound of Bane's hooves could be heard treading heavily upon the ground behind him.

"Firenze, you must turn back--" Bane said as he crossed his path once again.

"Step aside Bane…"

"—Do you not remember the warning Magorian had given you?" he went on as though he had not heard Firenzes' aggressive tone. "He had threatened to banish you from our forest if you break the Centaurs Laws that are as ancient as we are. Think cautiously of what you are about to do for this meager human is not--"

"_Meager human?" _Firenze hissed with ire. "He is a human in dire need!"

"And if so! What is that to do with us? Humans are not the concern of centaurs for we are a race apart and lately Firenze you seemed to have forgotten that."

"You fool!" Firenze bellowed kicking his rear legs in anger. "You are blinded by your arrogance and pride for you speak as though the planets have not let you in on their secrets! Do you not see how remarkably bright Mars is tonight? Do you not see how Neptune had aligned perfectly behind Uranus? Something terrible has taken place tonight Bane and both you and I know that it is all associated with the Potter boy."

"You are setting yourselves against the heavens when you have vowed not to, Firenze!" Bane thundered taking a step forward so that their faces were an inch apart.

"I set myself solely against what is evil!"

"With a human along your side?"

"If I must Bane then yes!"

The dark haired centaur narrowed his yellow eyes with disgust and took a few steps backward as though afraid that he would catch a deadly disease if he stayed to close to the younger centaur. Firenze was not fazed by this however, and moved passedBane swiftly, ignoring the threats that were being bellowed at him.

"Firenze! Firenze! If you do not turn back then Magorian will hear of this! Firenze! Have you heard what I said! Magorian will hear of this!"

* * *

_-- Hogwarts… 3:30 am

* * *

_

Bartemius Crouch looked down at Alastor Moodys' body (the figure he had taken the form of) checking if it was all concealed behind his invisibility cloak, then he looked down at Potters' map of Hogwarts, just to ensure himself that no one was in Dumbledore's office at all. Feeling as reassured as he could be, Bartemius pulled out his wand and tapped the door knob. As the door creaked open, Bartemius stepped quietly inside Dumbledore's circular office and shut the door behind him with a sharp _click_.

"Halt!" A voice cried, making him jump. "Who goes there? Show yourself!" A plump, red nosed wizard stared right through him for a moment or two and called out to the portrait beside him without moving his eyes from the door. "Phineas, did you hear the door shut? _Phineas!_ PHINEAS!"

"I'm asleep …" the wizard with a pointed beard said.

"This is no time sleep now, man! Get up! I tell you I heard someone come in!"

"There's no one there," Phineas said with a yawn as he opened an eye blearily.

"But I tell you I heard someone come in!" The ample wizard said, persistent that someone had entered the room.

"For Merlin's sake Hector! Can _you _see someone there?" Phineas snapped edgily.

"No, but I heard—"

"Then do us all a favor and shut your mouth! It's not of our concern if you are delusional!"

Huffing with indignity, the man in the portrait crossed his arms and stared at the door with narrowed eyes, but Bartemius waited patiently until he grew weary of it, and indeed, after a few minutes or so, his eye-lids started to drop, until finally, his head fell to his chest, followed by the loud snores that filled the room.

As quietly as he could, Bartemius lifted his arm and muttered a delusion charm on each portrait that would fool their inhabitants into seeing this room as it was now--empty, and not an item out of place--- lest a portrait be aroused out of their sleep again.

Now that he was sure not a thing could be a witness of what he was about to do, Bartemius threw off the invisibility cloak, letting it slide to the ground and thus started his search. A search for any indication of where he could find Potter in Dumbledore's office.

_

* * *

-- 4:30 am …

* * *

_

Remus Lupin with a black shaggy dog at his side walked into the castle of Hogwarts and stepped into its hallways which were deserted seeing as it was dawn. All of the students were tucked soundly into bed and Remus knew for a fact that not one student had dared to roam and wander alone in these hallways for Dumbledore had made it quite clear to them all how precarious they should all be…

"It is to my great displeasure to inform all of you that Hogwarts is not safe at these times," Dumbledore had said to his wide eyed students in the Great Hall yesterday. "And if circumstances do not improve then I will be obligated to ask the school governors to consider shutting down the school. But until that decision is made—" Dumbledore said loudly over the anxious chatter that had erupted. "--I implore each and every one of you to be cautious and watchful. No one is to leave their dormitories after six and you are all to wait patiently for a teacher to escort you from class to class. I ask you all once again not take this issue lightly. Murder had been plotted on two of my students thus far…so I beg of you all not to make yourselves a victim to these crimes as well."

_

* * *

-- 4:50 am …

* * *

_

The figure of Alastor Moody that Bartemius Crouch momentarily possessed, limped across the room and sat behind Albus Dumbledore's desk, cursing profoundly under his breath though he made sure that his magical blue eye was trained on the door lest anyone walked into the room only to find him here, rummaging and hunting through Dumbledore's possessions for any hint of Potters whereabouts.

His plan, he had concluded last night, though exceedingly risky could prove to have a rewarding outcome, for he had thought that there had to be something, _anything, _to lead him on to where Harry Potter was…but hitherto his thoughts had proven to be erroneous for there was not a single sign to even indicate to him that there was a search for Potter taking place.

Moreover, his plan he had forethought so thoroughly, his hours of time he had wasted and the letter he and Dawlish had concocted to lure Dumbledore out of Hogwarts was all in vain. His efforts he had put into making this plan flawless was worthless... The Dark Lord would not---

Leaning forward on his chair, Bartemius stared at a black cabinet that caught his eye…A cabinet that he had not looked through yet. His magical blue eye swiveled to the front. His black pupil contracted so the better he could see the cabinets' contents and what he saw made a wide lopsided grin spread across the scared face.

Behind the small wooden black door that was no longer opaque to his enchanted eye, he could see a small basin with markings encrusted on its rim…and when he contracted his pupil even more, the stone basin too became transparent and now he could see what it held within it…

It was a pensive.

That was it! That was all he needed. His efforts were not futile after all, for this….this was the key to Albus Dumbledore's mind! Oh how the Dark Lord will pleased. Oh how he will be praised above all of his masters followers!

But as excitement overwhelmed him, and as he started attempting to unlock the cabinet that was magically sealed with the most complicated enchantments he had ever encountered, Bartemius seemed to have let his guard down. His magical eye was no longer keeping watch and thus he did not notice a dog and man approach Dumbledore's office and nor did he notice the two dots labeled "Sirius Black" and "Remus Lupin" draw closer, closer and closer to the stone gargoyle guard outside…

* * *

Meanwhile, up in the Hufflepuff dormitories, a handsome young man with grey eyes pulled back the yellow curtains with one swift movement of his wand and pulled open the window letting a breeze of cold air sweep through the room. As he felt a shiver run down his spine, the Hufflepuff draped his cloak tighter around him and grabbed his broom that was hovering at his side. 

Quickly, he checked that all his dorm mates were fast asleep. They would be furious at him if they knew he was sneaking out when he knew he ought not to. Their snores however reassured him that they were all deep in their sleep so he mounted on his broom, kicked off the ground and flew out of the window, then swiveled around in mid-air and shut the window with a soft _click. _

The young man, Cedric Diggory, had been doing this every night since the _incident,_ for he had often found that he could not find sleep, or if he ever _did_ find sleep then it was a restless one, plagued with haunting dreams filled with screams, red eyes, and a horrible cold, high pitched voice.

As the ground drew closer, Cedric drew up the lever of his broom, puling up form his descent and landed with a swift _whoosh_ on the damp grass. When he finally came to a stop, he swung his left leg over the broom and closed his eyes to find a moment of piece which he often found in this place…then he slowly sat down on the damp grass, trying as much as he could to not think at all, for he often found that his thoughts these days made his heart grow weary…

_

* * *

Click… _

The cabinet door creaked open letting a silvery light seep out. He grinned. It had finally granted him access, and if it were possible for the smile to spread further across his face, then it would have, for a flame of exhilaration roared inside of him as he reached into the cabinet with the hands of Mad-eye Moody, and took the pensive.

Holding it carefully, Bartemius limped across the room, placed the pensive upon Dumbledore's desk and raised his wand high above his head. With a swish of his wand, all misplaced items in the room moved back into place. Papers stacked themselves as they were stacked before he went through them. Open drawers and cupboards shut softly, and many other objects flew across the room, going back to where Dumbledore had last placed them.

He let his eyes wander across the room one last time and concluded that not a thing appeared to have been touched in the room. Dumbledore would not suspect a thing. Satisfied, he turned to the pensive and tapped it, making it shrink in size until it was so small that he pocketed it. He then hastily grabbed Potters map of Hogwarts and shoved it into his other pocket, summoned his invisibility cloak and---

The door swung open.

"Alastor?"

He swiveled around, his wand ready to attack whoever it was behind him, only to find the werewolf, Remus Lupin, and a black shaggy dog behind him.

"Lupin," he said, almost with a sigh (he had thought it was Dumbledore) as he lowered his wand and shook the werewolf's outstretched hand. "What are you doing here?"

"Dumbledore wanted a word with me. He said he'd be waiting for me here. And you?" he asked, eyeing the invisibility cloak in his hand.

"Well I—" he fanned a cough. "I just came here to drop this cloak. Albus asked me if he could borrow it for a while. I wanted to have a word with him too, but he doesn't seem to be here…"

"He'll be back soon," the werewolf said slowly, looking at him in what he thought to be a shrewd and calculating way. "Why don't wait for him with me?"

"No, no," he said quickly, placing the invisibility cloak grudgingly on a chair. "I've waited too long as it is…I'll be seeing you later then."

He gazed at the piece of vermin with distaste for a moment, then nodded a curt nod before leaving the room as he silently cursed himself at his own foolhardiness and stupidity. How could he have let his guard down? He thought as he descended down the stairs. How could he have not noticed the werewolf behind the door? But no matter … He had found what he seeked for and he was sure that the werewolf would not deduce a thing. And why should he? Bartemius had covered for himself well, had he not?

* * *

**Authors Note**

* * *

**This chapter was meant to be longer but I thought you'd waited long enough...I hope you enjoyed it, and thanks a heap to any reviewers. It's much appreciated! So thanks again and please review! **

**Oh and next chapter is definitely titled "The Appearance." I think you can guess what that means ;p ...**


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